What They Say About Love and Hate
by glacier
Summary: Hanamichi plays hero to someone he didn't expect, which leads to a rather interesting aftermath. And no, it's not a lemon. ^_^


What They Say About Love and Hate.  
  
//Do take note that this is my first attempt at a fic after about 2 months so be gentle with criticism and such. With my current feeling of depression, I don't think I can handle flames.//  
  
"Che!" Hanamichi muttered as he fingered his bruised cheekbone gingerly. "This is the reward I get for doing a good deed." He stacked his hands behind his head and glared up at the velvety night sky, wondering what the hell possessed him to do what he did that afternoon.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
CRASH!!!  
  
The loud metallic sound had come from a dark alleyway. He was almost sure that it was just a cat that knocked a trash can over but the mean triumphant laugh that followed told him it was something else. Peeking cautiously from around the corner, he quickly assessed the situation and found that he didn't like the odds at all.  
  
Five goons had formed a rough circle around a lone figure who was sprawled face first unto the filthy alley floor. The boy appeared to have been either pushed or thrown right at a row of metal garbage cans that were now lying haphazardly around them. He could see that the boy was not very big and probably didn't stand a chance against five opponents. Hanamichi dropped his gym bag and walked right in.  
  
The leader, who appeared to be the biggest and stupidest-looking among the lot, had already drawn his foot back to kick the fallen boy but a rotten apple to the forehead and a mild voice stopped him. "Why don't you guys pick on someone your own size, eh?" All five thugs turned toward the voice simultaneously and glared at the red-haired boy. He might be bigger but there was five of them and only one of him.  
  
The ugly man growled as he wiped the disgusting remains of the apple from his face. "Yaro!! You're gonna pay for that, boy! Get him!!" And with a loud war cry, all five went charging down the alley and toward the intruder. Hanamichi grinned as the first one reached him.  
  
Hanamichi moved so quickly that the bald man didn't know what hit him. He went flying over his companions' heads and crashed right into the chain- link fence at the back of the alley. He groaned as he bounced off and landed on a pile of something definitely gross and gooey. The other four were taken aback and stopped dead on their tracks. They looked down at their fallen comrade and then at each other before rushing toward the redhead once more with renewed vengeance.  
  
They weren't quite so careless this time. Each of the four remaining thugs pulled a wicked looking knife from hidden sheaths and tried to slash at him. He dodged them easily as they were all rather fat and slow-moving but still, it was not easy to stay out of harm's way with four blades coming right at you.  
  
Hanamichi evaded every attempt they made to slice him up but one managed to just nick his arm. He swore under his breath and grabbed the hand that had cut him. He twisted the knife right out of the thick-browed man's grasp before using him as a shield from the hare-lipped thug's blade. The goons were apparently not as tough as they looked as the one who had stabbed his friend fainted at the sight of blood.  
  
He would've rolled his eyes had he not been busy at the moment. Instead, Hanamichi kicked the unconscious man away and kneed the injured man right at the groin. He was about to punch the man in the face when a dull sound of something solid hitting flesh and bone distracted him. He released the man, who immediately curled up like a fetus at the pain, and turned around to see what had made the noise.  
  
The sight that greeted him would have been funny at any other occasion except this one. While he had been busy fighting the other three brutes, the leader had been either too busy thinking of a strategy (Hanamichi highly doubted this) or too scared to make a move. Either way, the ugly man had waited until Hanamichi had turned his back on him before attempting anything.  
  
Fortunately, the boy had gotten up at that point and saw what was about to happen. Everything was happening so quickly, he did not have time to shout a warning. Instead, he had grabbed the nearest object and swung with all his might. The thing hit its target with an oddly satisfying 'thud'. The leader's eyes bulged almost out of their sockets as he sank slowly to the ground. The boy was leaning against the alley wall, still clutching the almost-bald fake Christmas tree in his limp fingers with his face hidden in shadow.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hanamichi snorted as the incident played back in his mind. How could he have known that he was the one he had helped? Of the thousands of people in the area, it just had to be him. Hanamichi mentally kicked himself in the arse for being so darn good-hearted. He should've just let those goons have a go at the idiot so he could then have the dorm room to himself.  
  
As if on cue, the very boy Hanamichi had been thinking of emerged from the dormitory's back door and plopped down on the grass beside him. He pretended there was no one there and ignored the brunette. That is, until an ice pack was slapped unceremoniously over his bruised cheek.  
  
"Ite!! What's the big idea, teme!" Hanamichi sat up and glared at the boy who merely raised a brow. "It'll help with the swelling, baka," was all the explanation he offered before turning his head to gaze at the stars. Hanamichi grunted his thanks before lying back down, his head supported by only one arm now that the other had to hold the ice pack in place.  
  
They stayed like that for a while until the brunette broke the uncomfortable silence. He spoke in such a low voice that Hanamichi didn't quite hear him. "I beg your pardon??" He cracked one eye open to see what the brunette was muttering about and saw an uncharacteristic flush on the other's face.  
  
It was Hanamichi's turn to raise an eyebrow. Since when did the older boy ever blush? But come to think of it, he really was sorta cute when he's not frowning. Hanamichi did a double take at his own thoughts. Damn, when had he started thinking of the brunette as cute? That right hook must have addled his brains.  
  
Slightly bemused at his own fanciful thoughts, Hanamichi did not notice that the brunette had turned to face him. "I said thanks for helping me back there and sorry about, um.. ahh." he trailed off uncertainly because Hanamichi had sat up again and was looking at him rather intensely. Clearing his throat, he finished his sentence in a rush. "Sorry for hitting you. I mean, I had just been attacked and I thought you were one of them and.."  
  
He didn't get to finish his sentence. His eyes widened as the redhead's lips settled over his, moving softly and gently before slowly pulling away. "That's ok, Koshino. That punch didn't hurt very much anyway."  
  
Hanamichi watched, fascinated, as the brunette's eyes slowly lost their dazed look then promptly narrowed. He didn't see the left hook coming until he ended up sprawled on the ground, his right cheek now also throbbing. "Ite! What the hell did you do that for?? Teme!! I always knew you were crazy, kono baka yaro."  
  
That last comment got him another bonk on the head as Koshino stood up, huffing. "Try to kiss me again and see what's going to happen to you, you hentai!! I never asked you to rescue me. I didn't need your help!!" Hanamichi's snort of obvious disbelief earned him another smack on the head. "I should've let that ugly man stick that knife in your back," Koshino muttered angrily before turning around and marching back toward the dormitory.  
  
Hanamichi watched the brunette's retreating back until the back door closed behind him. He gently prodded his newly acquired bruise and winced. Damn, that guy really packed a wallop. Despite the sting, Hanamichi grinned. He placed the ice pack on the new injury and settled back down on the grass. He smiled as he watched a falling star leave a streak of light on the night sky. It really was a beautiful night.  
  
~Owari 


End file.
